How to theme Claude Code

Claude Code lives in your terminal, so its look is a stack: Claude Code's own theme on top, your terminal's colors underneath. You can restyle either layer — here's the decision tree.

1. /theme — the built-in picker

Inside any Claude Code session, run /theme. You get an interactive picker with live preview: dark, light, ANSI variants and colorblind-friendly options. Arrow keys to preview, Enter to apply — the choice persists in your settings.

2. Custom themes (v2.1.118+)

Newer Claude Code versions support creating custom themes from the /theme flow. The zero-effort route: open any CodexSkins theme page, hit Copy install prompt, paste it into Claude Code. The prompt carries all 13 hex values and asks Claude Code to build the custom theme itself, then report what it changed. If your version doesn't support custom themes, the prompt says so and falls back to the closest preset plus ANSI guidance.

3. The ANSI trick (works on every version)

Claude Code's dark-ansi / light-ansipresets render using your terminal's 16-color ANSI palette. That means any terminal color scheme — iTerm2, Ghostty, kitty, Windows Terminal, Alacritty — becomes a Claude Code theme. Install your favorite palette at the terminal level, switch Claude Code to the ANSI preset, and the two match forever. This is also how you keep one consistent look across vim, your prompt and your agent.

FAQ

? Which Claude Code version supports custom themes?

Interactive custom theme creation via /theme landed in v2.1.118. On older versions, use the built-in presets plus the terminal ANSI route below — dark-ansi and light-ansi presets inherit your terminal's 16-color palette.

? Do themes affect Claude Code in my IDE terminal?

Claude Code renders inside whatever terminal hosts it — a standalone terminal, VS Code's integrated terminal, or an IDE panel. The /theme setting applies everywhere; ANSI-based looks follow each terminal's own color profile.

? Can I share my theme with teammates?

Copy the color tokens JSON from any CodexSkins theme page and send it over — teammates can paste it into our preview tool to see it, then apply it with the install prompt.

Browse the Claude Code gallery — every palette rendered on a terminal mock with statusline, exactly as it'll look.